In the Hall of the Mountain King
by Pitch Pipe Starkid
Summary: Five years after the first movie: AU in which the Barbaric Archipelago is the kingdom of the Wilderwest. Complete with castles, daring sword-fights, and knights riding dragons. Hiccup is about to take over his father's role as King. He, Toothless, and the rest of the knights have to stop an old friend from returning to power.
1. Troll Mountain

**Disclaimer: Nope. Obviously I own no characters here I just do this out of habit.**

**Author's Note: Let's see how far this goes.**

Zooming through the halls of the castle and purposely knocking things off the wall, "the unholy offspring of lighting and death itself" gently plopped down in front of his best friend's father.

"Dad, could you get Skullcrusher?" said Hiccup, dismounting the dragon, "I need to show you something."

Toothless slunk off to his favorite corner in that room and made himself comfortable. They'd been flying all morning. Not that he wasn't used to that, of course. Toothless had flown all day every day for the first fifteen years of his life but those weren't always the most pleasant of flights, as most of them involved spending a great deal of time avoiding humans. But now that humans were no longer a threat, he could take as many periodic naps as he wanted. He closed his eyes and listened to the scene that unfolded around him.

"Hiccup! Just the man I wanted to see. Did you think any more about my offer?"

"Well, a little… but Toothless and I found something you should probably take a look at."

"Good!" Stoick seemed to have completely missed that last part. "It's about time you take your rightful place on the throne of the Wilderwest."

"That would be nice but right now we've got bigger problems."

Again Stoick seemed too excited for his boy to understand the big picture. Hadn't that always been the way with those two? It warmed the dragon's heart to now know for sure that his best friend's father cared for him in a way that Hiccup could never fully understand.

"Aw, son, I've dreamed of this for you for so long. If only your mother could see you now! Queen Valka would have been so proud!"

"Dad-"

"When you were born, Hiccup, I was so worried. How could I ever teach you everything you needed to know to be King when I didn't even know what to do myself?" He let out a wild guffaw. "But you practically taught yourself everything! You're ready, son! And I couldn't be more proud of you!"  
"_Dad! _Toothless and I have reason to believe that Dagur is back!"

There was a thick, long silence in which Toothless almost fell asleep until Stoick broke it with "What do you mean he's back?"

"I mean, apparently it takes a little more than a few Exterminator dragons to rid the Wilderwest of that Beserk."

Their most recent encounter with him involved his foolishly dangerous idea to conquer the Exterminator dragons on Lava-Lout Island and use them to take on their castle at Berk. They ended up turning on him. It had not been a pretty sight.

Toothless had never been afraid of Dagur but it wasn't until recently that he had grown afraid _for _him. If Dagur had been a Viking of the tribes near Toothless' birthplace, he was sure he would have had a fearsome name like "Dagur the Deranged". Not only was he truly deranged, but he was relentless. For three whole years, he stopped at nothing to get his hands on Toothless and Hiccup. But Toothless would never let him get his hands on his prince. He wondered if Dagur's persistence had wavered.

"Are you sure?" Stoick asked, trying to stay strong, but Toothless could tell he was terrified for the safety of his son and the entire Wilderwest.

"Let me show you."

The dragon opened his eyes. The prince always said that, like some sort of cue.

He groaned a little. _Here we go._

Toothless would have preferred not to return to that mountain. It was dangerous enough with all the wild dragons so rare that Hiccup didn't even know about them. But when you added Dagur to the equation, this mess looked like a job for the King of the Wilderwest.

_Hiccup if you plan to come back here again, make at least bring Stormfly and Astrid!_

"I know, bud. This place gives me the creeps too."

_Excuse me your highness but that is NOT what I said. You know nothing. How dare you assume that I would be afraid. Rude._

"Are we getting closer?" Toothless heard the king bellow from atop the Rumblehorn.

"Not much farther, Dad," Hiccup called, "Come on, bud." he whispered soothingly as he adjusted his tail for a dive. Together, the prince and the Night Fury sailed the wind down the mountain, the king and the Rumblehorn following. Toothless' sharp dragon eyes could see the sign of Dagur before the others could.

At the base of the largest mountain was a stone with an unmistakable carving on it.

_The Skrill._

_ Hey Hiccup, there it is._

As they drew closer, the dragons could sense that it was not safe to land. So when they wanted to take a closer look, Toothless and Skullcrusher hovered in the air.

It was unmistakably the symbol of the Beserk province. A dragon about the size of Toothless and just as feared… if not, feared even more.

Underneath the symbol was a tiny opening, large enough for Toothless and his scrawny Hiccup to crawl through. As the humans of Toothless' homeland would say "there would be no way in Valhalla" that Skullcrusher or Stoick could fit through there. Unless…

Toothless looked up at his prince. He was smiling sideways at him.

_Ohhh no._

The shot would have to be so precise or else it would send the entire mountain crashing down. He had one chance to make this…

"Toothless, fire." He whispered.

With an eye roll, he said, _Really, Hiccup? I had no idea._ Concentrating hard, he fired. Above, below, and all around them shook the stones. Both Skullcrusher and Toothless growled.

In moments like this, Hiccup showed his amazing ability to speak to all dragons without words. The prince put a hand on Toothless scales as if to say "Easy, bud," and it soothed him in some strange way.

But after a moment, the rumbling stopped. Underneath the carving of the Skrill was an opening just barely large enough for all of them.

Hiccup scratched Toothless behind his horns. He could almost hear him saying "Thanks, bud" in that weird Dragonese way, dismounted, and the four of them crawled into the mountain. Although Toothless would have preferred to show the way through the darkness, in this situation it was best to be as stealthy as possible. Instead, Hiccup took the lead, brandishing his remarkable sword made of fire. Toothless had watched Hiccup make these ridiculous contraptions and had heard him explain their mechanics to countless humans but he still had no idea how that crazy thing worked! He hated to admit it but the thing impressed him every time.

They crept through this tunnel for a while in silence, too worried to make a sound. After a long while, Toothless' ears detected the squeal of a Mountain Terrible Terror.

_We must be getting close. _Toothless whispered.

And soon enough even Stoick, who had grown hard of hearing, could hear the beating of dragon wings and a cacophony of squawking of all types. A purplish glow appeared ahead.

_Woah, Hiccup, do you see that? _He asked as he looked to Hiccup. The glow of Hiccup's fiery sword illuminated the prince's face and he did not seem fazed by this unearthly glow coming from the end of the tunnel. This confirmed his hypothesis that there were some colors dragons could see that humans couldn't. He thought to himself _Too bad for you. It's actually quite beautiful._

But as they drew closer to the light, the sight ahead of them became clearer and it was nowhere close to pretty: a cave full of dragons of every color, variety, and age. Ledges upon ledges of dragons as far as the eye could see. Toothless had never seen so many dragons in one place.

Upon noticing the dreadful sight, Stoick gasped in horror because every dragon lay shackled, chained to the floor of the cave, wings bound, helplessly struggling to break free. In the center of this prison stood a massive stone structure; a newly constructed castle, the towers reaching up so high they touched the top of the mountain.

Then a cry made the spines on Toothless' back shoot up. After the battle they'd had with it all those years ago, neither Toothless nor Hiccup could forget that blood-curdling shriek.

He whispered to his father, "The Skrill."


	2. Visiting Astrid

**Disclaimer: Obviously. Not even the title is mine.**

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for the flattering review and the follows! Please continue to do so. The more aware you make me of your mighty need for this story, I will do the best I can to accommodate your wishes! :) Enjoy!**

_Knock knock_

Even though the fate of the Kingdom of the Wilderwest was at stake, his heart felt considerably lighter when her face appeared at the door.

"Good morning, milady," he said, bowing to her, "terribly sorry to intrude but may we come in?"

At times, his best friend knew him better than he knew himself. Toothless nudged Hiccup towards Astrid. The prince tripped on his metal leg a bit, but fell safely into the arms of his most trusted knight. She pulled him in for a kiss.

_This is it. This is what it means to be alive _thought Hiccup.

Every kiss with Astrid was pure bliss. Time always stopped. Nothing existed but her.

She pulled away, stepped aside, and allowed the prince and his dragon to enter her home. As Hiccup sat down at the kitchen table, Toothless beside him, she asked "Now, Prince Hiccup, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"As much as we would love to exchange pleasant conversation, Toothless and I are here on business today."

"Really?" Astrid asked dubiously.

Usually when Hiccup and Toothless paid her a visit, he would tell his father he was seeing Lady Astrid "for business". Sometimes, the business would be of a different kind entirely. But most of the time, he and Toothless would show up and take her for a flight, talking for hours about nothing serious. Unfortunately, the pressing matters discovered this morning didn't really leave time for either of those types of business.

"Surprisingly, this time we're _actually _here for business. Toothless and I were flying past the Mystic Mountains today when he noticed a miniscule carving at the base of Troll Mountain. When he flew closer, we could both see that it was an unmistakable Skrill." Astrid flinched. He could tell she didn't like where this was going. "Behind it lay a tunnel."

"So you two, being the adventure-seeking idiots that you are, followed it." She interjected.

Toothless let out a funny sort of growl. Sometimes Hiccup could _almost _tell what Toothless was saying in his own Dragonese way, as if now, for example, he was saying, "Watch who you're calling idiot, Astrid".

"Naturally," Hiccup agreed.

"What did you find?" She asked.

"It led us to the heart of the mountain. Inside, we found scores and scores of dragons, trapped in chains." The thought still sent shivers running down his spine. He'd seen trapped dragons before but never so many. The poor things, still crying out to him in pain…

Astrid sighed. "Sounds like the dragon trappers are at it again."

He shook his head. "Worse, I'm afraid. At the center of this chaotic prison was an enormous castle."

"Was anyone inside?"

"We didn't see anyone but we have a pretty good guess of who's behind this. The cries of a captured Skrill are not easy to forget."

_"Dagur,"_ Lady Astrid whispered vehemently, slamming her fist onto the table, startling Toothless.

_Easy, bud, _Hiccup thought as he patted the Night Fury on the head. "Yep."

Astrid paced around the table. "And it sounds like he's got a few trappers on his side."

Hiccup nodded. "Certainly more than a few. He was never one for physical labor that didn't result in brutal murder. How else could he have built that monstrosity?"

"How many dragons, did you say?"

"More than I've ever seen." Toothless made a noise of assent.

"But if he has allies too…" Astrid was coming to the unfortunate realization.

"… then he must be building an army. If we know Dagur, and unfortunately we do, he wouldn't be seeking help for any reason other than personal gain."

Astrid stopped pacing and grabbed Hiccup's arm. "You don't think he means to set these dragons upon this castle, do you? After all, revenge is his middle name."

This was a running joke in the Kingdom of the Wilderwest but Hiccup had often wondered if it were true. Anyone strange enough to call their child Dagur is probably crazy enough to make their middle name Revenge. Then again, who names their son Hiccup?

"And you and Toothless were the ones who turned those Exterminator dragons against him. And if he brought them here…." She froze. "I couldn't bear to lose you, Hiccup."

"It's not me you need to worry about. It's the people of this kingdom. Dagur alone is dangerous enough. Add a few dragons to this and he is certainly a force to be reckoned with."

"You've told your father about this, haven't you?" She asked, taking his hand and sitting on his lap.

Hiccup nodded. "We just got back from Troll Mountain. He's discussing it with Gobber now."

"Has he come up with a plan?"

"Not any that he's told me, but he did ask me to prepare all the knights."

Sighing she whispered, "Good."

"Why's that?"

"Because I don't want you getting any ideas about taking on Dagur and the Skrill alone."

As Toothless growled, Hiccup could almost hear him saying "Not _alone_! _I'd_ be there!" He scratched his best friend behind the ears. "That's right, bud," he said, "I _wouldn't_ be alone, Astrid."

She rolled her eyes. "You _know_ what I mean. Please don't take Dagur on without me there."

"I appreciate your concern, Lady Astrid, but…" Although everyone here now had dragons of their own, the bond Toothless and Hiccup shared was so strong that not even Astrid fully understood it. "There's no safer place for me than with Toothless."

"Some day, you're going to be the King of the Wilderwest and other people will be glad that you 'appreciate my concern'. But _I_ am your girlfriend, Hiccup and I'm not going to take that dragon dung kind of excuse. _Promise_ you won't fight Dagur without me."

Five years ago, Hiccup never could have imagined how much Astrid cared for him today. Even at that moment, her concern touched his heart, as if she had expressed it for the first time. These reminders coursed like blood through his veins and kept him moving when nothing else could. He knew that keeping this promise would not be possible. There was no way he could guarantee that Astrid would be beside him at all times. When had any battle with Dagur gone according to plan?

"I know what you're thinking, Hiccup."

_Doesn't she always? _He thought, smiling in spite of her.

"Don't do that!" Astrid put a hand to his cheek. "Hiccup, please. You're the Heir to the Throne of the Wilderwest and I want nothing more than your safety."

He could barely argue with her when she put it like this. Her hand was soft and her eyes were more amazing and more beautiful than anything he had ever seen.

"Promise me, Hiccup?"

No one _really _understood how safe he was with Toothless but if anyone came the close, it was Astrid. He nodded. "Alright."

"Hiccup."

"You're right."  
"Hiccup." She said more sternly this time.

"What?" he asked.

"Say the words 'I promise, Astrid.'"

He pressed his hand to her face and stared into those deep blue eyes as if he were looking into the eyes of a dragon whose trust he knew he must earn. Expect when he looked into dragon eyes he eventually had to close his own, otherwise he would become hypnotized and dizzy. But these blue eyes too made him a little disoriented. "I promise, Astrid."

Their lips met.

"Sealed with a kiss," whispered Astrid, "Now if you break your promise, I'll have to break your arm."

No matter how long he lived, he would never understand this about Astrid. Heaving a huge exasperated sigh, Hiccup asked, "Why do you always make it about violence?"


	3. Plan of Attack

**Disclaimer: This shit ain't mine but I sure wish to hell it was.**

**Author's Note: Thank you all so much for your support! You guys have really driven me to actually get my butt into gear with this story. For once there's a larger plan that I will most likely stick to! What a foreign concept! Enjoy!**

Toothless was not usually a fan of dark cramped spaces full of sweaty, frustrated, teen knights, but a battle plan meeting was where he was in his element. So those particular dark, smelly, knight-filled spaces weren't so bad. There, he and the other dragons could just talk.

The prince and his girlfriend led the way up to the castle, Toothless and Stormfly following behind on foot.

_I cannot _believe_ that vile Dagur is at it again. _Stormfly said with a rage that had matched Astrid's earlier.

_I can, _sighed Toothless.

_Who on earth could have survived an attack by a horde of Exterminator dragons?_

_ I don't know but if he wasn't a force to be reckoned with before, he certainly is now._

Although Stormfly continued squawking on about Dagur with indignant fury, Toothless preferred to stay silent. Dagur was not the only troubling thing on his mind. He knew that someone as cruel as Dagur did not get the Skrill to side with him by earning its trust. Force and submission must have been involved. Same with all the dragon trappers he recruited. If only there was a way to help them see that there was another way… he and Hiccup were both particularly good at that. If only he and Hiccup could just talk to the dragons…

A punch in the wing broke his train of thought. Hovering beside him serenely was Meatlug.

_Hi guys. _

_Hey, Meatlug, _Toothless and his prince greeted her at the same time, the latter giving her a little scratch behind the ears.

_What's going on? _She asked Toothless.

_I'll fill you in when the others get here._

As Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, Barf and Belch spent more time together, the more Toothless realized that he was the "Hiccup" of this group of dragons. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. He didn't find himself a natural-born leader. Unlike Hiccup, Toothless was no prince, and no divine rule made him more fit to devise plans and provide ideas than any other dragon. Personally, he had no idea why others listened to him. Maybe it was because he was always with Hiccup… Toothless didn't like to think about it so he told himself _Yeah, that's gotta be it… for now, anyway…_

Soon enough, they were joined by Fishlegs, Snotlout, Hookfang, the twins, Barf and Belch, Skullcrusher, Stoick, Gobber, and Grump. They all squeezed into a tiny room, located far away as possible from the ears of potentially prying spies. The knights gathered around a circular table as Hiccup and Stoick filled them in on the unfortunate new developments in the Wilderwest. Toothless plopped down on the cold stone floor behind Hiccup; the dragons formed a circle, creating a sort of mirror that linked the worlds of humans and dragons.

_Alright, Toothless, _growled Grump, Gobber's gargantuan grumpy Gronckle, _I'm missing my midday snooze for this, so let's get on with it._

Before Toothless could even start to answer, Hookfang cut him off. _Come _on, _Grump, you're not the only one who has something better to do._

Sighing, Meatlug asked, _And what would that be?_

Hookfang looked around sheepishly. _Actually I have nothing better to do._

_We do! _Declared Belch.

Barf agreed with his other half, _Yeah! _At the same time, they chorused, _Mass destruction! _This was followed by the dragon's two heads butting horns. Toothless wasn't sure if the Zippleback had come up with this headbutting thing all on his own or if he'd picked it up from Ruff and Tuff…

Stormfly showed off her spiny tail like a warning. _Guys, listen to Toothless, this is serious!_

_Thank you, Stormfly. _All eyes were on him now… _Today Hiccup and I were flying over the Mystic Mountains and at the base of Troll Mountain I saw a carving of a Skrill. Behind it was a tunnel that led us to the center of the mountain. Inside was a huge prison, holding more dragons captive than I have ever seen in my entire life! At the center of all this commotion was a huge castle, tall as the mountain itself, and inside, the Skrill. _

The others recoiled.

_We believe that Dagur the Deranged is up to no good once again._

The dragons stirred. Grump sighed. _You sure he has enough strength left in him to try an attack like that? There's no _way _he could have survived what you last put him through._

_Who else could it be, Grump? _Skullcrusher whispered. The other dragons were silent immediately. He was a Rumblehorn who didn't say much of anything, so this came as a bit of a shock. When a dragon who has been quiet speaks, people tend to listen. _He knows where the Skrill was trapped, frozen in ice all those years ago. He could have used his army to unfreeze it and haul it back to Troll Mountain. He's the only one stupid enough to try to harness its power and the only one dangerous enough to trap that many dragons._

_More dragons than we've ever seen? _Hookfang asked uneasily.

_But if they come here… _Meatlug worried.

_We're not going to let them come here,_ said Toothless.

_Why not? _Asked Stormfly, _We could take them._

_No we couldn't. Even though there are many more of us at Berk than there were five years ago, Dagur's army outnumbers us greatly. Besides, only a small number of us here are trained warriors. _Toothless explained.

_So what do we do? _Belch asked sarcastically; _Take the mountain from the inside?_

Toothless motioned to his best friend. _I think that's what his plan is. I say we fly to the mountain. You all should create a diversion. Drive Dagur and the Skrill out of the mountain. Meanwhile, Hiccup and I will sneak in and… _He wondered if it would sound just as ridiculous as it did in his head when he said it aloud, _talk to the dragons._

The Nightmare and the Zippleback nearly split their sides in a fit of laughter.

The others ignored them. Stormfly shook her head. _What good is that going to do? _She asked skeptically. Like her rider, Astrid, she too believed that war was as good a tactic as any.

_We're sure Dagur has trapper allies inside that castle. We could take care of them, cut a few of their ropes, and convince them to turn against that Deranged piece of-_

Hookfang and Barf and Belch were still laughing. The Nightmare shook a tear of laughter from her eye. Finally recovering from the funniest thing she'd ever heard, she asked, _You don't honestly think that's going to work, do you?_

_What other choice do we have? _Toothless shot back. _We don't have strength in numbers. We can't let that army get to Berk. We have to go to the mountain and stop them._

He heard a friendly voice from behind him, "Right bud?"

_What-_

Hiccup gently placed a hand under Toothless' chin, the other on top of his scaly head, and looked him in the eyes. "You can't fight Dagur without us. Toothless is the fastest dragon in the Wilderwest."

_Too right I am._

Behind him, he heard Barf snigger _Rude._

"It's a trap, Hiccup," Gobber warned, "Why do you think he made his hideout so easy to find? Anyone who really wants to surprise you would be smart enough to hide themselves instead of going to all that trouble erecting a monument."

Stoick agreed, "He's right, son. Dagur knows that if he builds it you will come."

"But Dad, if Toothless and I don't go, nothing will stop him from coming here to Berk! We can't let that happen!"

"Hiccup," said Astrid, "that's what he wants. If we know Dagur-"

Behind him, Hookfang growled, _and unfortunately we do…_

"-he's after two things: Toothless and the throne of the Wilderwest. If you go in, you could get hurt and that would just give him exactly what he wants."

Did Astrid think that he wouldn't be enough to protect her precious Hiccup? He cared about that prince more than she knew!

_I can protect myself AND Hiccup easily, Lady Astrid!_ Toothless growled, baring his teeth, staring her down. She returned the icy glare.

His friend held a hand up as if to silence him. Toothless could almost hear him saying "Toothless, she only means well".

"Just step aside, Hiccup. And let the pros handle it," said Snotlout, "You're not the only knight in Berk with a fantastic dragon, right Hookfang?"

She shrugged. _Uhh, I dunno…_

"Snotlout's right. We need someone to look after the village while we put an end to Dagur and his army," said Stoick.

The tension was rising. Toothless could see frustration mounting in Hiccup's green eyes. "Dad, it would only make sense if I just came with you."

"It's for the good of the people, Hiccup. You're not coming."

"Staying here isn't going to do the people of the Wilderwest any good!"

"Then this is for your _own _good!"

Even through this heated debate, Toothless heard movement from outside the door. He snuck over, grabbed the handle with his mouth, and pulled it open. Someone toppled over onto Toothless.

The knights and dragons froze, looking at each other, as the figure attempted to pick himself up. Too bad for him, because Toothless pinned him to the ground.

From atop him, Toothless realized that he knew this face. _Why you traitorous eel! _He roared in his face and the man recoiled.

The knights rushed to see what all this was about.

"Woah woah woah, settle down there. What is it, bud?" Hiccup asked. He knelt down to get a better look at this man who had been listening at the door.

He was a big teen with dark hair wearing a displeased expression. "Get this bloody thing off me!" He whined.

"Well well well…" Hiccup muttered, "looks like we've trapped ourselves a trapper, haven't we, bud? Isn't fate artistic?"

King Stoick loomed over them, casting an enormous shadow. "Ruffnut, Tuffnut, take this piece of filth to the dungeons. I'll deal with you later, you Son of an Eret."


	4. The Deal

**Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon.**

**Author's Note: Wow! Thanks so much for the follows and the reviews! It means a lot to me. Reviews are greatly appreciated. I can take the heat. Go on, rip it to shreds! Enjoy! **

The darkness was the least of his worries. As a child, Hiccup had played in these dungeons when they had been full of furious fire-spitting dragons. Down here, he had scared his father half-to-death more times than he could count. Now, not a boy anymore but not yet a man, the dungeons below the castle at Berk were a comforting place. A place where he'd scribbled pictures of dreams of dragons and contraptions to hurt (and later) to help them. A place where he'd watched them from the shadows. How ironic that a place that brought him so much comfort stirred terror in the hearts of others…

Toothless was not afraid but he did seem uneasy, snarling as he walked beside Hiccup down the dark, dank dungeons.

"Sorry it's a little spooky down here, bud," Hiccup apologized. It hadn't been his idea to lock the trapper up but under the circumstances, the prince didn't think it wise to argue with his father. If he were being honest with himself, he would have admitted that his father would not want him speaking to Eret but Stoick didn't have to know about this, right?

_It's just going to be a little chat…_ He attempted to convince himself, _No harm in that, right?_

They followed the sounds of muffled weeping to the trapper's cell. As it grew closer, Hiccup drew at lit his sword of fire. By its light, he and Toothless beheld a sorry sight. Eret son of Eret was curled up in a corner, crying a bit. Upon seeing the light of Hiccup's sword, he immediately sprang to his feet and pressed his face against the bars.

Surprised, Hiccup lost his footing. Instinctively, with a nudge of his nose, Toothless helped him back to his feet.

"What do you want?" The trapper spat.

"How do you do, Eret son of Eret? It's nice to see you again too."

He repeated himself, "What do you want?"

Hiccup placed the burning sword on the cold stone floor and sat down, while Toothless stood his ground. "A nice chat. Care to join me?"

Eret looked down his nose at him, refusing to sit down. He was still the same as ever, when they had met a few years back. He and his men had been attacked by pirates and their boat had washed up on the beaches of Berk. A ship full of trappers hadn't looked too good for the dragons. Fortunately, Hiccup had enlisted the help of a nearby friend, the Screaming Death, to be precise, and managed to drive the trappers out.

Hiccup knew that there was more to Eret than met the eye. The trapper put on a brave face, boasting that he listened to no one, when in reality, underneath that roaring lion was a frightened little boy who just wanted to save his own skin.

Hiccup continued, "We both know that you didn't come here of your own accord. I'm guessing Dagur sent you?"

"What makes you think that?" Eret asked.

"Oh I dunno, let's see… suspicious behavior, listening at the door, your general demeanor, weeping in the corner..." Hiccup suggested.

Toothless sniggered.

"Are you laughing at me?" Eret asked, outraged. "Is he _laughing _at _me_?!" He reached through the bars, attempting to swipe at the dragon. "I'll teach you to laugh at me, you rude little-"

The Night Fury shot a burst of bright blue flame at the trapper. Eret jumped back. Quickly he regained his composure.

"It's not a good idea to insult a dragon. It just might be the last thing you ever do.

"Anyway, after your last visit, I'm guessing you weren't too keen on returning," said Hiccup, recalling the speed at which Eret and his men had bolted from Berk upon seeing the Screaming Death.

"Why wouldn't I be? There are enough dragons for me to capture here to keep me comfortable for the rest of my life, thank you very much!"

"With Dagur at large, you'd be out of a job. What's he up to, by the way?" Hiccup asked conversationally.

Eret remained steadfast. "Nothing that concerns you." He retorted.

"Oh but it _does _concern me, Eret." He paused, "Let's make a deal."

Now Hiccup was speaking his language. There was a glint in Eret's eye as he joined the prince on the dungeon floor. Only an iron door separated the boy and his dragon from one of the most skilled trappers in the Wilderwest. The light from Hiccup's fire sword played upon their faces.

"On what grounds?" Eret asked.

"You spy on Dagur, tell us what he's up to, and help us stop him."

The trapper scowled. He didn't like the sound of that… "What's in it for me?" He asked.

"Your freedom."

Still scowling, Eret asked "And what if I don't like those odds?"

"That's the deal. Take it or leave it."

Eret didn't look too convinced.

"Look, if we don't stop Dagur, nothing comes between him and the throne of the Wilderwest. I don't know about you but I would not want a king like Dagur. Are you in or out?"

"You talked to Eret son of Eret without me?!" whined Ruffnut.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" asked Fishlegs skeptically.

"Right now, it looks like the only choice we've got." Hiccup explained the teen knights, who had cornered him as he'd tried to pass the training grounds.

None of them were particularly keen on his plan, except for Ruffnut but she was keener on the dragon trapper's arm flab than his trustworthiness or the success of Hiccup's plan.

"Even he _doesn't _double-cross us and we _do _succeed, once we set him free, how do you know he won't come back for our dragons?" Astrid asked.

"Uh, well for starters, we've got the Screaming Death on our side and last time Eret was here they didn't get along too well."

"That's your backup plan?" scoffed Snotlout, "It'll never work!"

"Well, hopefully, we won't have to resort to that. During his time with us, we can change his mind," said Hiccup.

Toothless purred and cocked his head as if to ask _Change his mind?_

"About what exactly?" Tuffnut asked stupidly.

"About dragons."

There was an awkward silence.

Astrid hesitated. "Hiccup, I know you are really good at this diplomacy stuff but he's a dragon trapper! Do you honestly think you can change his mind?"

The pressure of everything that had happened that morning finally set in: Stoick's offer, Dagur's dragon army, aided by some of the best trappers in the Wilderwest, Eret son of Eret now playing the double agent game, Stoick's refusal to let him go into battle to stop this, and now everyone expected him to have all the answers. He was only twenty. He was no longer a boy but not yet a man.

He had no idea.

All he knew was that he needed to get out of there as soon as possible or his head would burst. He just needed to forget everything for a moment. He hopped onto the back of his loyal best friend. And replied to Astrid and the other knights with a shrug, "Maybe not, but it's worth a shot."

Toothless soared up into the air, over the knights on the training grounds and over the turrets of the great castle.

The Night Fury mewed a little question that sounded to Hiccup like _Where to?_

"Anywhere. But one small favor, Toothless: could we be home in time for tea?"

With a great cry, Toothless picked up speed and soared over the green and brown patchwork of the Wilderwest, then with a click of Hiccup's metal leg, the black dragon soared up into the clouds above. They floated over sea and through sky, the wind in their faces, cartwheeling through the ether...

Up in the clouds with his best friend, Hiccup was free. Just him and Toothless. Up here, no one could tell them what to do. Together, they were cloaked in the fabric of safety that no one could ever understand. Up here, no one expected him to have the answers. All his responsibilities faded.

Unfortunately after about an hour or so, the doubts he'd ridden off to escape crept up into the back of his mind. Up here it was too windy to carry out a serious conversation.

"Hey, bud," Hiccup said gently, patting the dragon on the side of the head, "could we land for just a second?"

Toothless dived towards the sea and pulled up at the last second. Their heads out of the clouds, he quickly found a suitable sea stack for them to rest on. He pulled in smoothly for a landing. Hiccup dismounted, sighing.

"Dad wants me to be King. Even with Dagur coming for the throne, he doesn't want me to fight him. How ridiculous is that?! You're the fastest dragon in the Wilderwest, Toothless." He scratched him under the chin. "Neither he nor Astrid think we're ready to take him on! And I'm ready! I may not be ready to be King but if he doesn't give me this chance I'll never be! If he doesn't give us this chance, there might not be another one. Agch!" He kicked a rock with his good leg and watched it tumble off the sea stack and into the sea. He slunk to the ground.

Toothless padded up next to him and made a sympathetic noise that sounded to Hiccup like an _I'm sorry, Hiccup._

He sighed. "It's not your fault, bud. There's just so much responsibility. I just… I just don't think I'm ready."

His dragon gave a little growl that Hiccup imagined was _Well _I _think you're ready._

He put a hand on one of Toothless' front legs. "Thank you, Toothless. It's good to know I've always got your support."

The two sat in silence for a moment, staring out at the horizon that stretched across the Wilderwest like a never-ending canvas of cloud and sky. Now that Hiccup was so far from the castle, so far away from Dagur, the castle, his father, and Astrid, he wanted to stay here. How tempting it was, to just keep flying and flying until they reached a new land, or never landing at all. Just flying and flying until he grew old…

Lost in his fantasy, he hadn't noticed Toothless getting up and preparing for takeoff. Not until Toothless snorted something that Hiccup imagined to be _Come on, you one-legged thing. Didn't you want to be home in time for tea?_


	5. The Trap

**Disclaimer: How to Train Your Dragon is property of Cressida Cowell and Dreamworks Animation Studios.**

**Author's Note: Please enjoy and review**

Wings beating against the wind, Toothless set out across the sea, his load a little heavier than usual. Upon his back today rode not only Hiccup but also a very reluctant dragon trapper, hugging Hiccup around the middle, terrified of plunging into the sea below.

Although Eret was the only one who knew where the secret entrance to Dagur's castle was located, the Night Fury did not want him to come with them. Something didn't feel right about this. Eret and Hiccup could have discussed this back on Berk. Toothless didn't see why they couldn't discuss these weak spots and secret entrances out in the open… It was freezing out here.

"AH! LEFT! _LEEEEEEEEEEEEEFT!"_ cried Eret.

Toothless swerved at the last possible second, trying to cause the trapper the maximum airsickness.

Hiccup leaned forward slightly and whispered, "Go easy on him. He's our only chance."

_No he's not, _Toothless snapped back.

Hiccup must have gotten this gist of this because he shrugged and replied "Well, maybe not, but right now it looks like he's our best shot…"

_You should have told your Dad about this._

Hiccup said nothing.

Cold bit Toothless' wings and tail. Luckily for them, recently, Hiccup had worked out the kinks in the mechanical tail so there was risk of it freezing shut.

"That's it, down there." Eret said, pointing to an isolated glacier almost in the exact shape as Troll Mountain.

Toothless hesitated. They were nowhere _near _Troll Mountain! How in Valhalla was _this_ a secret entrance?

"_Gently_," Hiccup reminded.

Toothless had a bad feeling about this. He didn't trust Eret but he certainly trusted Hiccup, and if Hiccup was going to trust Eret, than Toothless would loyally stand behind him. Pointing his nose downward, he gently lowered them to the Troll-Mountain-shaped glacier.

Eret jumped off quickly with a shiver, happy to be back on the ground. "The entrance should be right over here…" He said, leading them around to the other side of the glacier, Toothless staying close to Hiccup in case he slipped.

Despite the constant adjustments Hiccup had been making to his prosthesis, it didn't always work as well as he would have liked. Sure enough, he lost his footing on a piece of uneven ice. In that brief moment of helping Hiccup to his feet, Toothless let his guard down. Ordinarily he would have heard that ominous _CRACK_ behind him on the ice.

Suddenly, the thin layer of ice under them broke. Toothless started floating away from the glacier.

Struggling to get to his feet, Hiccup called out, "TOOTHLESS!"

Above them swarmed a herd of Deadly Nadders, spraying their fiery breath at the glacier, melting large portions of it in seconds. Suspended by Nadder claws, dangling in the air, laughing maniacally, aiming a crossbow at Hiccup, was Dagur.

Toothless attempted to jump from the small piece of ice that grounded him. He had to swim to Hiccup. Immediately, they pounced, pulling him under.

He was only able to get enough air at the last second. Underwater, it was three against one, their claws scratching his scales, their spines digging into his tail. He thrashed about wildly, trying to rise to the surface.

It had been a setup. Dagur knew they would be coming here.

Hiccup needed his help.


	6. Hiccup Says Goodbye

**Disclaimer: Well… you get the idea.**

**Author's Note: Sorry not sorry.**

"_Toothless!_" He called out. Valiantly, he jumped into the frostbite cold water. Straightaway, claws wrenched him out and threw him back onto the icy landmass.

"Hiccup look out!" cried a voice from behind him. Luckily it did, too. He noticed spine shots headed his way and rolled out of the way just in time. A dragon grabbed Eret in their talons and carried him off, feet dangling in the air as he howled.

Catching his breath, Hiccup heard a soft chuckle behind him. He instinctively drew his fire sword and set it ablaze. Dagur let out an ear-splitting cry. In his moment of weakness, Hiccup rose to his feet.

Despite the red burn mark on his face, Dagur's expression remained triumphant.

"Oh, little prince," said Dagur, "I am incredibly grateful. For you've made this so beautifully easy! That trapper led you and that Night Fury right into my trap! I _told _you a trapper's trap can trap a trapper!" He let out a hysterical laugh.

Hiccup's heart raced. He was not afraid for himself but for Toothless. "Let Toothless go," he said calmly.

Dagur chuckled again. "What makes you think I would do that?" He drew his sword.

Luckily for Hiccup, he'd been taking sword fighting lessons from an elder on Berk named Gormless, who had been the best swordfighter of his generation. Also, Hiccup was a leftie and a leftie has an advantage over a good rightie. Through all the parries and thrusts, his thought only of Toothless. Dagur was not going to take his dragon from him.

The cheat that he was, Dagur took a swipe at Hiccup's leg. Although Hiccup pulled his prosthesis away in the nick of time, he lost his balance. In that crucial moment, Dagur pulled out his crossbow. Out of it shot a bolas. Despite Hiccup's attempts to get out of its path, it wrapped itself around his legs. Struggling to get to his feet, Dagur shot another that wrapped itself around Hiccup's torso. He struggled against the bonds as Dagur approached slowly.

"At last," Dagur breathed, "I've got myself the Night Fury… and I've got you."

He held his sword high above his head and chuckled quietly. Hiccup's heart was racing. He desperately looked for a way out, to the left, to the right, to the sky…

"_Look out!_"

Skullcrusher zoomed through the sky, King Stoick on his back, followed by Lady Astrid on Stormfly. The Rumblehorn knocked Dagur off his feet. Stoick dismounted and drew his sword.

The King's dragon attempted to bite the ropes that bound Hiccup. "Skullcrusher, go help Toothless!" Just like Stoick himself, the dragon would not stop until he had saved the prince. A Nadder pounced and pinned Skullcrusher to the ground. Fire fought fire.

Stormfly flew to the Night Fury's aid.

"Hiccup!" Astrid rushed to help but four Nadders made a circle around her. She rolled and dodged but they were just as clever as she was.

"Well, well, well!" Dagur laughed. Why did he always find these dangerous situations hilarious? "King of the Wilderwest against the _next_ King of the Wilderwest. What a twist we have in our story!"

"You? Our king?" growled Stoick, "Over my dead body."

"That can be arranged…"

They launched into a ferocious fight.

Astrid continued to avoid the dragons. She was a superior warrior but even the most fantastic of knights are beaten sometimes by a green Nadder and a spine shot to the leg. "Agch!" She cried, "Hang on, Hiccup, I'm coming!" Stabbing pain in her leg slowed her down and another dragon managed to scratch her across her back. She collapsed.

Hiccup continued to struggle against the ropes that bound him, his heart beating wildly against his chest. His father, his best friend, the love of his life all in danger… this could all be stopped if he could only help Toothless. He _had_ to get to Toothless…

Stoick had always been a fighter but never had he fought with this little mercy. With the lives of Berk's finest dragon, Berk's finest knight, and his only son on the line, he had to win. Fury coursed through his blood. "No one hurts my son!"

"Oh really, my king? I beg to differ!"

Skullcrusher had managed to overpower his attacker and rushed to Hiccup, clawing his way through the ropes that bound him. Hiccup rose to his feet and rushed towards Toothless. If he could get to Toothless, then he could stop Dagur and draw the dragons back…

but a wall of fire encircled him and stopped him in his tracks. The intense heat of the Nadders' flames melted the ice beneath his feet quickly. Once it broke he could swim to Toothless.

Through the flames, Hiccup could see his father pinning Dagur to the ground. "Never come near my son ever again!" Stoick bellowed.

Dagur managed to free his right hand and found his sword. Stoick let out a Wilderwest War Cry as he closed in for the kill. Those flames around Hiccup might have been burning fast but Dagur was faster. He stabbed Stoick straight through the heart.

The sting of Dagur's blade reached Hiccup's heart as well. "_DAD!_" Shielding his face from the fire, he leapt through the flames, miraculously protected by his armour. He rushed to his father's fallen body.

He was still breathing, thank goodness, but Hiccup knew it would not be for long. The wound was too deep. "Dad…" He wrapped his arms around his father's chest.

The sound of Toothless' roar and a plasma blast echoed across the vast expanse. Soon, the black dragon's agile feet appeared on the glacier, charging at the man who had hurt Hiccup's father.

Holding fast to his father, he heard a cry of "_Retreat_!", a blast of fire from Toothless, his fearsome roars, Nadders squawking and scooping up their cruel master, footsteps rushing to his side.

"Hiccup…" Stoick whispered hoarsely.

"Dad!" He cried desperately, "Dad, come on, we'll get you back to the castle! Astrid, help me lift him. Gothi can fix this. It's- it's not as bad as it looks. You're gonna be okay, Dad. You're gonna be okay, just hold on."

"It's no use, son. I'm not going to make it." Stoick coughed out.

"No. No, no, _no, _Dad, you're going to be alright!" He pleaded.

"You're ready, son. You're going to make a great king."

A single tear fell from Hiccup's eye. There was so much he wanted to tell his father. If he really wasn't going to make it… he couldn't bear the thought. If only he could freeze time and tell him everything… He needed to say everything he had ever meant to say. He had to apologize for everything, for going behind his back, for embarrassing the family for fifteen years, for leaving his inventions lying about the castle, for not being as good a son as his father would have liked.

A lifetime of words unsaid hung on his lips. All he managed to say was, "Dad…"

"I love you, Hiccup, and I couldn't be more proud of you."

Stoick closed his eyes.

"Dad, no! _No_!"

It wasn't possible. Not him! Not his father! He was the strongest king that ever ruled the Wilderwest. He was the bravest warrior that ever flew the skies. Death was a fate that befell villains, monsters, other people. Not his father.

Hiccup did not know how long he sat there, hugging his father's chest, crying into his beard. He cried until he could not cry anymore. After a moment of terrible silence, something nudged his shoulder. Without hesitation, he hugged Toothless around the neck, receiving comfort from stroking his cold black scales. After he let go, Astrid took his hand. He wrapped his arms around her tightly. She was warm but none of her heat reached him. He hadn't the strength to feel anything at the moment other than the emptiness that penetrated his entire body.

He looked down at her leg and saw the spine sticking out of her calf. It reminded him that even when the world ended, time did not stop. The worst was not behind them yet…

"We should head back. You need to get that seen to."

The flight back, neither Astrid nor Hiccup said anything. The only sounds from the dragons were their wings beating against the bitterly cold wind.

Through Hiccup's mind swam memories of him and his father together. Fishing trips turned to troll hunting. Flights to uncharted lands. The day his father knighted him. All the battles they fought together over the last five years, side by side, as father and son…

There had been so much he had wanted to say. He couldn't believe it.

_I'm sorry, Dad._


	7. How to Speak Dragonese

**Disclaimer: Not mine, yadda yadda yadda**

**Author's Note: Hey, guys! Glad to see some of you are still reading! Please enjoy and don't forget to review! I've been trying to do something similar to this chapter for years now and I think I finally found the perfect place to put it. I think it's what this story needs. Let me know what you think.**

Emptiness and guilt crept through him. It was all his fault. If only he had been strong enough to fight them off, he could have saved him in time. No one deserved a terrible loss at the hands of that fiend! He'd kill him for what he'd done to Stoick! No one deserved to live with that evil damaging pain, especially not his Hiccup.

After Stoick's funeral, Hiccup had retreated to the dungeons, refusing to speak to anyone, not Gobber, none of the other knights, not even Astrid. The only company he wanted was his dragon. Beneath the mourners in the castle, the prince curled up next to Toothless' reptilian figure, as the Night Fury shielded him with his magnificent wings. He knew that his cold-blooded reptile body would not provide much warmth but this sense of security was what his Hiccup needed. They sat in silence for a long time. Toothless could feel his other half's searing pain coursing through him like a poisonous gas, choking him, causing a few tears to fall from his eyes…

The words came out before Toothless could stop himself:

_Hiccup, I'm so sorry._

Suddenly, Hiccup sat up and looked him straight in the bright green eyes. _Toothless?! _He asked. But it didn't sound like Hiccup… well, of course it still sounded like his Hiccup, but no human sounds like himself when his speech is full of whistles and pops… Could it be…?

_ Toothless, what… how did you… you just…! I can't believe this, I must be going crazy. But you just… Goodness, this is crazy…You can… you can _speak_!_

Just as bewildered as Hiccup, Toothless was very confused. How in Valhalla was Hiccup able to understand him, and suddenly able to speak Dragonese?! He and Hiccup and been friends for years! An intelligent dragon, Toothless had picked up much of the human language by listening to Hiccup speak, more than anyone else, in fact, for he had a very large vocabulary. They had figured out a strange way of communication between languages, Hiccup speaking, Toothless speaking. Toothless understanding, Hiccup not understanding. So from where had this phenomenon come?!

_I know! _Said Toothless, still trying to process what had just happened, _But so can you! And not just in your own language! Right now you're speaking to me in Dragonese!_

The prince rose to his feet. _Toothless- what? Don't be ridiculous! I hear you clear as day, just as if you're speaking my own tongue._

_ Doesn't mean I can't hear you speaking as clear as day just as if you're speaking mine. _Toothless shot back.

Hiccup cocked his head and stared more intently at Toothless. _How is this possible? _He whispered in perfect Dragonese.

Toothless had heard a story about something like this before…but he didn't know if it had been true… The dragon hesitated. _I'm not absolutely sure, but… I did hear a story about another human who could speak to dragons… and he too was a Hiccup…_

His best friend's eyes widened.

_…Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the SECOND._

Prince Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third gasped. _The other Hiccup could talk to dragons…?_

_ So I've heard, _said Toothless, _As a baby, he was deemed a runt, unfit for life among humans and was left on the Bay of Broken Heart to die. Luckily for him, he was found by some dragons. They raised him, brought him up as one of their own, and taught him their language._

_ I've heard stories about him too, Toothless, _said Hiccup, _but I'd _never _heard that he could speak to dragons!_

_ He kept it a secret. _Toothless explained, _Raised as a wild dragon, he didn't trust the humans. He believed that if the humans learned of his power, they would use it for evil._

_ But this is… _Hiccup was now pacing around the dungeons, filled with a newfound energy, _This is… Aha! _He exclaimed, _This is great! Have all of you been trying to talk to us for centuries or is it just you, bud?_

_ All of us! _Toothless agreed, _We all speak to each other and to the humans in our own language._

_ What do you call it? _Hiccup asked, full of curiosity.

_Dragonese._

Hiccup laughed. _Wow! This is incredible! I… I don't have the words… _

Yet he did. He continued, _This is amazing! I can't even begin to describe how fantastic a discovery this is! When did you- how do you… did you understand me when I spoke to you in the language of the Wilderwest for all those years?_

Toothless shrugged. _It did take me a while to understand you but I got the hang of it after a while._

_ This is crazy! But how am I able to _speak_ in your language?_

The dragon proceeded with caution. _Maybe… _said Toothless slowly, _since you are my other half, we are linked by our physical weaknesses, _He showed his tail, _we've figured out a way to be stronger together. But when I felt your pain that could not be seen, maybe we became linked on another level. Maybe we had transcended that bond and were able to take it to some sort of new level._

_ That is crazy _said Hiccup.

_I dunno. It's just a guess…_

_ Do you think I could speak to other dragons? _The prince asked excitedly.

_Only one day to find out, _Toothless said, smiling.

_We have to tell Astrid! _The prince started to run off but Toothless stopped him.

_Hiccup?_

_Yes, Toothless?_

_What if Hiccup the Second was right to keep his secret from the humans? Are you sure this shouldn't just be our secret?_ _I trust Astrid but not all humans can be trusted. You saw what Dagur did. And that double-crossing son of an Eret… _Toothless spat, _What would we do if they found out and wanted to use you to control dragons?_

Hiccup put a hand under Toothless' chin and stared into his beautiful green dragon eyes. _People of the Wilderwest might not understand this but I think it's what it needs. With the ability to speak to dragons, we can show people that dragons can be reasoned with. We can talk to them. We can settle disputes peacefully. We can… we can make things right. We can convince all the trappers to find new work. We can persuade all the dragons in Dagur's army to see reason. Why, we could even convince the Skrill! If I can talk to dangerous dragons, they can be trained. If I share my gift with the world, we can change it for the better. I know not every soul in the Wilderwest shares my views but together, I know that we can do this. You and me. Do you trust me, bud?  
_Toothless knew this was the right thing to do. If anyone could make peace between humans and dragons everywhere, it was Hiccup. Maybe there was only one human every few hundred years who could speak this complex language, but what he chose to do with this gift was up to him.

Deep in his heart of hearts Toothless knew that this was the right choice. Hiccup wanted to use his gift to help the dragons. If this boy, Prince Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, could speak to all dragons, then he certainly had the power to change the world for all of us.

Toothless nodded. _Of course, Hiccup._

Hiccup grinned from ear to ear. The sight warmed Toothless' cold scaly dragon body. He didn't think he would see the prince smile like that ever again.

_Well, _said Hiccup, _Let's find Astrid and test this thing out. Come on, bud!_

Feeling five years old again, Toothless followed Hiccup as they snuck around the corridors of the dark mournful castle. With all the gloom at the passing of their king looming over the place, it seemed an inappropriate time for their joy but in times of sorrow, you need a little fun to keep your spirits alive.

Lady Astrid stood at the door to Hiccup's chamber.

_Stay here. Be very quiet, _whispered Hiccup, smiling his lopsided dorky smile. He carefully approached Astrid from behind and grabbed her around the waist. He must have thought that would have been cute but Astrid, the finest knight in the Wilderwest was not to be underestimated. She must have been suspecting an attack. She twisted his arm and threw him to the ground. Her axe was at his throat in no time. Toothless rushed to his side. Once the knight realized who her "attacker" had been…

"Hiccup!" She exclaimed, throwing her axe aside and helping him to his feet. She threw in a punch in the arm for good measure. "Don't you _ever_ scare me like that again!"

The prince rubbed his arm. "Well hello there, milady! It's so nice to see you too." He said wryly.

"What was that all about?"

"I merely wanted to surprise you. Maybe a little, 'Oh, how cute! It's my boyfriend, giving me a loving embrace!' would brighten up this sorrowful day."

"I nearly chopped your head off!"

"And whose fault was that exactly?"

"Hiccup, are you alright?"

Toothless could see that in Astrid's own way she really did care about Hiccup very, very much.

"You will never believe the surprise I have for you. Have you seen Stormfly?" Hiccup asked.

"She's at the training grounds. She was so upset after we came back. She needed to set some things on fire. Why?"

Hiccup took her hand. "I have to show you something. It's absolutely crazy," he admitted, "but you're going to have to trust me."

"Hiccup, you know that even through all…" She gestured to Hiccup's entire body, "…_this, _I can't help but trust you. What is it?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup took a deep breath and turned to Toothless. _Should I go first or should you…? _He asked nervously.

_Well, I think you making all these strange dragon noises willl surprise her more. I've always sounded this funny to her._

Hiccup laughed. _Yeah, that's true. I guess you have, haven't you, Toothless? _He looked sideways at Astrid, who Toothless had not seen this confused since they had first met. _This is so strange… but absolutely incredible! It's like our own secret language! Is this how you feel like… all the time? _He asked.

_More or less. But now the other dragons and I will have to stop talking about how full of yourself you are behind your back, _Toothless joked.

_Ohhh but I knew you did that already, you big baby boo! You can't hide all your secrets from me!_

Through this entire conversation, Astrid watched with her mouth open. Finally she burst. "Hiccup, what the hell is going on?! What are you doing?!"

"Astrid, it turns out I can speak to dragons!"

"Talk to-?" She sighed. "Hiccup I know you really do _sound_ like a dragon but I honestly don't think Toothless can understand you right now. You've been through a lot today. You need to lie down…"

"No, Astrid, I don't need to lie down. This is real! More or less, Toothless has always been able to understand me but only a few moments ago, I was finally able to understand _him!_ And he told me that I'd started speaking the language of his fellow _dragons,"_ which Toothless heard as "_greenbloods_" but to Astrid it just sounded like whistley gobblety-gook, "and we want to see if I can talk to _all_ dragons! Astrid, this could be huge!"

Toothless looked out the window at the end of the long corridor and spotted a Terrible Terror flying past, leapt to the ledge with his strong legs, and pulled him in by the scruff of his neck.

He struggled. Ignoring this request, Toothless carried the dragon over to Hiccup and dropped it in his arms.

"Here we go," said Hiccup. He took a deep breath. _Hello, there, little Terrible Terror, what's your name?_

Surprised a human boy was talking to him, the Terror seemed a little reluctant to answer. Toothless prayed it would work. If the gods had chosen any human to be able to talk to all dragons, it would be Hiccup. He held his breath.

_It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you, _Hiccup whispered, _I just want to talk. Who are you?_

As the Terror opened its mouth to speak, Toothless crossed his claws. He watched Hiccup's face, hoping to see a flicker of comprehension.

_Who am I?! _He shrieked, _I might as well ask you the same question! Unhand me, you selfish brat!_

The prince laughed and Toothless heaved a sigh of relief. There might just be hope for the dragons of the Wilderwest yet. Astrid watched this whole thing unfold, slightly baffled, but pretty much convinced.

_Alright, never mind, then!_ He said, as the little dragon flapped off, _See you around, little devil!_

_ I heard that!_ The little dragon called back as he flew out the window.

"I can't believe I'm asking this but… what did he say? What did you say?"

Hiccup relayed the entire conversation to her, using a funny nasally voice for the Terrible Terror. "You see, Astrid? This changes everything. Now we can go back to Troll Mountain. Toothless and I can talk to the dragons and show them that we mean no harm. We can make peace."

Astrid stared at the two of them in disbelief. "I still have no idea how you did that."

"Toothless and I have ideas but they're only ideas. We don't know for sure either. All I know is that this is our best chance of defeating Dagur."  
She shook her head. "This is pretty desperate, Hiccup."

"What other choice do we have?"

She smiled. "I'll round up the others." Before rushing off, she gave Hiccup a kiss.

Toothless gave Hiccup a slobbery dragon kiss of his own, licking the side of his face.

_Toothless!_

_ We have a chance now! _Said Toothless excitedly.

Hiccup gave the dragon an enormous hug. _We do, bud. Thanks to you._


	8. Dealing with Dragons

**Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.**

**Author's Note: Glad for the remaining readers I have left! These next few chapters were planned from the beginning. Thanks so much for your support!**

A petite nanodragon glided lazily across the mountainous landscape on the cloudy, moonless night. As he cleared the enormous canyon miles below him, he spotted six dragons crouching in the darkness: two Gronckles, a Monstrous Nightmare, a Hideous Zippleback, a Deadly Nadder, and a _Night Fury!_ The nanodragon knew that that was a dragon not to make cross. He zipped off in the other direction.

Down below in the canyon that Toothless said dragons called _the Hall_, the knights sat upon their dragons' backs as they crouched in the shadows, waiting for their commander to give the signal.

Hiccup's heart beat violently against his chest. Out of all the crazy, desperate, and fiendishly clever plans he had devised over the years, this one took the cake for least likely to succeed and most suicidal. Flying into a prison full of dragons and trappers and trying to convince them to rise up against Dagur was not going to be an easy task. Why did he always have to make all the hard decisions?

_You alright, Hiccup?_ Asked Toothless,_ You seem a little tense._

_ I just hope they'll listen to me. Otherwise…_

_ I know, Hiccup. I know. But you can do this._

Giving the loyal dragon a pat on the back, he whispered, _I don't know… but I'll certainly try. Thank you._

Beside him Tuffnut shivered. "Ugh. Could you stop doing that, Hiccup? It's really freaking me out. You seriously sound like a real-life dragon right now."

His sister jibed, "_You_ seriously sound like a big fat sissy right now."

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do _too!_"

"Do _not!_"

"Do TOO!"

"Guys!" Hiccup sighed, "If we want this plan to work we're going to have to be _quiet_. Otherwise the whole operation will all go up in smoke."

Sighing dreamily, Ruffnut gazed off into the depths of the Hall. "Wow. That sounds beautiful."

"Ultimate destruction." Chorused the twins and their Zippleback.

_Stop that, _Hiccup hissed. Barf and Belch _would _love destruction and fire as much as their riders. With a sigh, Hiccup thought _What a surprise._

"Alright," he whispered, "Everyone ready?"

Dragons and riders nodded. Hiccup didn't think it was possible, but his heart beat even faster, butterflies in his stomach.

"Okay… _now!_"

A cacophony of noise broke out from dragons and humans alike. All the noise the knights and their dragons had been keeping inside was let loose. Hookfang, Grump, Meatlug, Stormfly, and Barf and Belch flew towards the base of Troll Mountain, and into the tunnel.

_Surprise, Dagur, _said Toothless. He and Hiccup had hung back. They would not venture into the lair until the knights had drawn Dagur out.

The waiting was agony. Not that Hiccup _wanted _to go into the heart of Troll Mountain and try to reason with a dragon army… but waiting for the others… waiting for Astrid… he knew that she and Stormfly would perform better in the open air than in that hollowed-out mountain prison. He hoped she was alright.

The voices of Ruffnut and Tuffnut echoing out into the Hall were the first sign of their plan working accordingly. "Your dragon can't do anything as cool as _this_!"

Dramatically, Barf expelled a huge amount of gas; Belch lit it, and created a truly magnificent explosion.

_Awesome!_ Cried Barf and Belch.

The others flew out on their tails, Dagur howling his war cry at the top of his lungs, as if he'd been dreaming of nothing better his entire life. Carried in the talons of the ferocious Skrill, covered in war paint, armed with an axe, sword, and crossbow, dangling in midair, laughing as if this were some sort of game, Dagur was a terrifying sight.

Rage coursed through Hiccup's veins. _I'll kill him for what he did to my father, _he whispered.

_Not yet, _Toothless reminded.

_I know. Let's fly!_

The knights had drawn Dagur up away from the entrance. The Skrill and Dagur were both in their element. Lightning shot from the Skrill's mouth, illuminating the night sky. Swooping above the Skrill, avoiding crazy mid-air sword lunges from Dagur, Stormfly and Hookfang attempted to find its blind spots. With one bolt of lightning, the Skrill easily shot down Meatlug.

"This is _child's play!_" screeched Dagur, so loud you could probably hear him from the far side of the island, "Where, oh _where_ is my Hiccup and his Night Fury?!"

But before Dagur had even finished, Toothless had darted across the Hall, zoomed through the dragon-sized space, and was already travelling into the heart of Troll Mountain. As they travelled deeper into the heart of the mountain, Hiccup and Toothless could still hear cries of "Oh Hiccuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup! Little priiiiiiince! Time to come out and plaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!"

_Am I the only one who thinks he's a little… _Toothless hesitated, _obsessed with you?_

_ The thought has crossed my mind as well, _Hiccup admitted. He gave an involuntary shiver. _Ugch! No thank you._

Indecipherable cries of humans and dragons alike echoed down the long tunnel, coming from the inside of the mountain. Was it Hiccup's imagination or were those voices headed in their direction?

Thinking quickly and unlatching his foot, they performed an evasive maneuver they had perfected over the years. Hiccup jumped to the ground. Toothless grabbed him with his short dragon arms, and clung to the ceiling of the tunnel, hanging on dangerously by his talons alone. The smooth black wings shielded Hiccup from the approaching din of trappers wheeling their enormous war machines and ferocious dragon warriors.

Once the clatter of talons and steel died down, Toothless fell gracefully from the ceiling, landing on his feet like an agile cat. Hiccup applied some of the knowledge Astrid had given him and tucked and rolled into an upright position, almost losing his footing but catching himself just in time.

_Thanks, bud,_ he whispered. He drew his fire saber from his belt and set it aflame. _Let's walk this last leg, shall we? We don't want to scare any of the other dragons._

_ Sounds good to me._

They continued down the tunnel in silence, Hiccup's heart pounding faster than before. At this rate he would have a heart attack before they even _reached _the dragon prison!

_Hiccup, can I ask you a question? _Toothless whispered.

_Absolutely. _It was good to have someone to talk to. Toothless always knew how to calm him down, but now that they were able to effectively communicate through language, this effect seemed to have been multiplied by at least ten.

_How does that sword work?_

Explaining his inventions always took Hiccup's mind off things. _This end: Zippleback gas. This end: Nightmare saliva. Just a spark is all it needs._

_ Huh… _mused Toothless thoughtfully, _it makes so much more sense in my own language… Do you see that strange glow up ahead?_

_ What glow? _Hiccup asked.

_It's kind of purple… Never mind. I guess there are some colors only dragons can see… Anyway… we must be getting close._

They preceded cautiously, Toothless taking the lead.

Soon enough, the light grew into a color Hiccup could see. As it grew closer, he felt braver. Toothless' words rang through his head on repeat and gave him strength like some sort of talisman.

_You can do this. _Toothless' voice morphed into one that sounded like his own. _You can do this. _He told himself. _You can do this._

Together, he and Toothless stepped across the threshold, the horde of dragons immediately let out a terrible simultaneous screech, as if all the noise from earlier hadn't woken them from their slumber.

From the magnificent stone castle came human cries of "Hey! Whussgoinon out there?"

Hiccup took a deep breath and called out to the dragons, _Dragons of the Wilderwest! I beg you, please hear me out. I am a friend to dragonkind. You can trust me. I too can make fire. And even now, I am speaking to you in Dragonese._

Armed trappers emerged from the castle, charging towards Hiccup.

_Uhm… would you excuse me for a moment? _Encircling himself in Zippleback gas, with a spark, Hiccup managed to stop all the trappers in their tracks.

The noise from the humans and dragons in the enormous cavern had ceased. All eyes were on Hiccup. Who was this boy who was not yet a man? Speaking in whistles and pops, carrying a magic sword of fire?

"Drop your weapons." He commanded calmly. Terrified of what he might do, the trappers obeyed. "There is no need for violence. Dragons are intelligent creatures. They can be reason with. Even the most fearsome we can talk to. We don't have to trap them. There's another way. Let me show you."

Back on Berk, around the knights of the Wilderwest, he did not possess what you would call a commanding presence. But here, among the dragons, they listened to his every word. Here, he was truly something special.

_Dragons, I am so, so sorry for what has happened to you. Taken from your homes, shipped off like cattle, forced to work for this lunatic without conscience. He has stolen something from me as well. My father._ A lump rose in the back of his throat. _But I am not giving up. We need to stand together! _

Cries of assent rang out from all sides.

_We need to fight! Together, we can take down this fiend, and I promise, on my life, that you all will be free._

_ Free? _Spat a voice from above. Hiccup jumped on Toothless' back and they flew up to speak to this naysayer face-to-face. He was a very ancient emerald green Scauldron, withered and dehydrated, one of his wings sporting a huge hole, his entire body battle-scarred. _How do we know we can trust you? How do we know you're not any better than the rest of them?_

Slowly, the prince extended his arm toward the ancient warrior.

_It's okay, _He whispered, calmly, as if this was not a wild venomous Scauldron, as if his beating heart was not about to break his chest, as if his beloved Astrid wasn't fighting Dagur and a Skrill, _I'm not gonna hurt you._

Slowly, the dragon leaned his head forward. Hiccup felt its warm breath on his hand. He smiled at him. He then tore off a piece of fabric from his armour, made from a material created to mimic the aerodynamic qualities of dragon skin. Toothless licked its underside, creating a sort of glue. Carefully approaching the broken wing, Hiccup attached the piece of new wing, reached into one of his pockets, and pulled out a needle and thread.

_Not going to lie, this might hurt a bit. But it will all be over in a second. I promise. _Skillfully, he sewed the new patch of pseudo-skin to the dragon's wing. _There we go. Good as new. _And with his mighty sword of fire, he cut the ropes that bound him.

The ancient Scauldron let out a roar of _Freedooooooooooooom!_

From tiers below, all the way down at the base of the stone monument, a human voice called, "Hiccup!"

Toothless swooped down to answer the cry. As he landed gracefully on the ground, the crowd parted, revealing a limping, bound, wounded man, looking ashamed.

"Eret!" Hiccup rushed to the man's aid, immediately cutting the ropes around his hands and ankles. The trapper did not look like he had been treated well. He was badly bruised and had gashes in his arms, and a nasty oozing cut on his leg. This must have been from the Nadders…

"Hiccup," he breathed, looking into the prince's eyes, "I am so sorry. Dagur… he… he made me… And when he didn't return with your head, he beat me and… and … I'm so sorry about your father."

Hiccup wanted to be angry with Eret but he could not bring himself to find that anger. Although the trapper had led them into that terrible trap, Stoick's death was not Eret's fault. None of this was his fault. He was merely a pawn, a puppet in Dagur's show. He deserved to be forgiven.

The Scauldron, testing out his new wing, flew a little lopsidedly to the base of the castle. The trappers backed away in fear. What would this boy do to them if they made any moves?

Hiccup beckoned the Scauldron closer and hauled Eret onto its back.

"Wha-what… Hiccup what is this? What are you doing?" Eret asked nervously.

_Take him back to the castle at Berk, will you? See to it that he gets the medical attention het needs. He's a friend._ Hiccup said to the dragon.

"What did you just tell that thing?" breathed Eret.

"He's taking you back to Berk. You need to get that looked at," said Hiccup, wincing as he motioned to the oozing cut on Eret's leg.

"But Hiccup… what is this…?" Eret had not actually expected his pleas for mercy to work.

"It's another chance. You made a mistake but we've all made our fair share of mistakes. It's important to see the good in people, especially when they can't see it themselves."

The emerald Scauldron let out a war cry and rose into the air. Hiccup mounted Toothless and did the same. The Night Fury flew to the top of the hollow mountain prison and made a lap, Hiccup cutting all ropes and freeing every dragon with his fire sword. Quickly, the freed dragons helped their friends. With their combined efforts, soon every dragon was back in the air. Many let out celebratory cries, spewing fire into the air. Unfortunately, the combination of many fire blasts blew off the top of the mountain.

Hiccup's heart sank. This was not part of the plan.

"Ohhh no…"

The earth shook beneath them. Straightaway, the trappers headed for the exit. As the stones began to fall, some dragons dodged them ably, while others fell, their friends helping them up. Other dragons continued to blow the remaining rocks from their door to the skies with cries of _Freedom! _and _To the skies!_

Boulders continued to fall, crashing down, the noise disorienting several dragons…

_We gotta get out of here, bud, _said Hiccup.

Toothless did not need telling twice. He headed for the tunnel exit.

_Uhh, Tothless, are you sure about this?_

_ Right now I think this is the safest we're going to get._

Something came zooming towards them down the tunnel.

"Watch out!"

Toothless only swerved out of the way just in time, Hiccup nearly losing his balance. He whirled around to see who or what that had been. Who on Earth would be retreating back into the mountain?

"Astrid?!"

All the knights wildly sped down the tunnel on their dragons. Chasing them in was their old friend.

Performing their old invisibility maneuver, Toothless and Hiccup remained unseen for the moment as the Skrill zoomed past, Dagur dangling from its claws screaming "Oh little Hiccup! You will be miiiiiiiiiine!"

Clearly the deranged moron had been too caught up in the moment to look up and notice that his beloved prince and dragon were literally at arms' length. Once he had passed, Toothless fell to the ground and Hiccup mounted the dragon again.

_Don't tell me, _sighed Toothless, _we're going back in there to get the others out and also to see if we can trap him in there as well._

_We have to, Toothless. Astrid is in there._

_I didn't think it was optional, _the Night Fury shot back as he zoomed back toward the chaos,_ You're just so predictable._

They reached the heart of the catastrophe in no time. Dagur jabbed his Skrill in the leg with his sword. The poor creature let out a roar of pain and released him. He landed on the tail of Stormfly.

"Tail flip!" called Astrid, but Dagur held fast to the Nadder's best weapon. As he flew through the air, he managed to grab hold of one of Stormfly's razor sharp teeth.

He pulled himself up, shielded the Nadder's eye, throwing her wildly off-balance. With his other hand, he grabbed Astrid around the neck.

"NOW! Where is Hiccup?!"

Toothless shot a plasma blast at Dagur, sending him whirling through the air, screaming for his Skrill to come to his rescue.

"Hiccup!" screamed Astrid. Stormfly had managed to right herself, swerving a falling boulder.

Toothless looked to the skies. _Where do they think they're going?_

At the first sight of the night sky and open air in years, a large group of dragons fled the Mystic Mountains.

"Great," groaned Hiccup with his usual air of sarcasm, "so much for my brilliant plan…"

Dagur's Skrill had come to his rescue, and now, upon knowing Hiccup's presence, he was even wilder than before, his eyes searching madly.

_Let's end this, _said Toothless grimly.

Hiccup put a hand on his friend's back, as if to say "Let's go for it, bud". He lit his weapon of fire and waved it in the air, trying not to hit any escaping or falling dragons. It did manage to slice a few boulders.

"Hey, Dagur! It's your little Hiccup and his Night Fury! Over here!"

Once Dagur found him, his eyes filled with an eeire delight. Jabbing the Skrill again, the beast rose upward, roaring so incoherently it didn't even sound like Dragonese.

"Hiccup, you promised!" Roared Astrid. Looking down, Hiccup saw that Stormfly's wing had been crushed by a boulder. She was unable to help… If they got out of this alive, she was not going to be happy…

_Higher, bud._

This war had to end before it begun. Agile Toothless rose beyond the turmoil below. Once out in the open, he and Hiccup silently agreed that there was only one thing to do. The Night Fury took to the Hall.

"At last! My Hiccup and that Night Fury are within my grasp!"


	9. In the Hall of the Mountain King

**Disclaimer: Don't even own the name of this chapter or this story. Thanks, Grieg!**

**Author's Note: I got the idea for this story on the way to work, listening to that Grieg piece on the radio. All I could picture was Toothless up in the sky, evading a crazy Dagur and the Skrill. This was the scene I couldn't wait to write from the beginning. Let me know how it turns out! Trying to get this story done before I go to a summer program for a month.**

_Isn't water the Skrill's one weakness?_ Toothless asked as they soared up into the clouds.

_Yes…_

_ And there's no water for miles…_

_ I know, but maybe if we hide in the clouds we can surprise him… _It sounded like Hiccup was running out of ideas. _Watch out!_

A bolt of lightning shot past, the Night Fury swerved to avoid it. The higher they climbed, the more lighting spewed at them from all directions, illuminating the dragons and their riders against the moonless sky. Dagur and his dragon weren't working particularly well together, especially when it came to direction: Dagur spun the poor creature around in a circle, hoping one of the bolts would shoot Toothless down.

Even though his aim was pathetic, the Skirll could still do the pair a lot of damage because of the large amounts of metal they were wearing. Toothless' heart beat faster every time a bolt came anywhere near Hiccup's left leg.

_Okay, you were right, _Hiccup sighed; _Guess the clouds weren't such a good idea after all._

Toothless dived into the huge canyon, down, down. The wind in his face made it hard to see He and Hiccup adjusted their prostheses accordingly, rider holding fast to the dragon with his calves, Toothless playing limp. The Night Fury fired at the Skrill, who was descending on them. Somehow, Dagur wildly directed the dragon out of harm's way.

_We don't want to hurt him, _said Hiccup, _we just need to bring him down. I think he and I should have a little chat._

Toothless knew that by "he", Hiccup meant the Skrill, because they both knew that Hiccup wanted to hurt Dagur very badly for what he had done to his father.

Toothless aimed more carefully this time… Purple fire hit the Skrill's wing and his body sunk into the canyon. He didn't fall very far. He caught himself on one of the ledges. Hiccup adjusted Toothless' tail and they landed on a ledge across the canyon from the dragon. Dagur rose to his feet. Where in _Valhalla_ did he get all his energy?

"You can't win, Hiccup!" called Dagur from across the canyon, "You can never be King of the Wilderwest! Only I can rule this wild land! Only I have such strength! Only I have such power!"

"Are you sure about that?" said Hiccup wryly, "You and whose army? The trappers have gone. The dragons have fled. It's over."

Chuckling, Dagur replied, "I wouldn't be too sure about that, my dear Hiccup! I have the Skrill! The only dragon worthy of a fight with your magnificent Night Fury! You cannot win! This is my precious mountain, my precious canyon! Soon all of the Wilderwest will bow to me!"

During this futile speech, the Skrill had recovered, and shot a bolt of lightning at Toothless. Luckily the Night Fury shielded Hiccup from harm, jumped out of the way, and reflexively fired a plasma blast. _Crack!_ The ledge Dagur was standing on crumbled. Instinctively, the Skrill pulled its feet from the crumbing rock and kept itself in the air as Dagur fell down, down, down into the Hall of the Mountain King…

_Now's your chance... _whispered Toothless.

His rider did not understand. _W- what? What do you mean?_

Taking a deep breath, Toothless called to the Skrill, _Listen, it doesn't have to be like this. We don't have to fight._

_ He'll kill me, _mumbled the Skrill in a worried voice, _He'll kill me if I don't._

_ If you come with us, we can help you. _Hiccup offered.

The symbol of the Beserk province trembled. This was not the fearsome beast of legends. He looked so small in the vast landscape of rocky ruin. _No one can help me, _He moaned, _there's no hope left. _

_There is _always _hope! _Hiccup insisted.

Inching carefully off the rocky ledge towards the dragon, Toothless whispered, _Come with us. We can keep you safe._

_No! Stop! Don't come any closer! _The Skrill recoiled.

_We're not going to hurt you. _Said Hiccup.

_But if he could see me now… _In an attempt to regain control, he shot a half-hearted bolt of lightning at them. It landed nowhere close to the Night Fury or the prince. _He would hurt me. I just… I can't. Leave me._

They ignored the Skrill's warnings. As they came closer, Toothless noticed large gashes its legs where Dagur had plunged many a sword. His wings were tattered, the spines on his back drooping. Up close, he was truly a pathetic sight, backed against the canyon wall.

Hiccup held out his arm. _I am so, so sorry for the terrible things he has done to you. And I know we can't undo them… _Toothless knew Hiccup was thinking of Stoick. _ But we can at least try._

Conflicted, the Skrill looked from his master and to this strange boy. Toothless looked down too. It appeared as if Dagur had regained consciousness. Axe in one hand, arrow in the other, crossbow slung over his back, sword in his teeth, he was climbing the canyon back to his defeated little dragon.

"It takes more than a fall to be rid of me!" he cried from below, "Soon you will be _mine_!"

_Shut him out, buddy, just shut him out, _urged Hiccup, closing his eyes and reaching forward. It always made Toothless so nervous when he did that! _It's alright… _His hand was inches away from the dragon's nose. In Hiccup's haste to soothe the Skrill, he had not realized how fast Dagur was heading towards them. But Toothless did.

As the axe whizzed past, Toothless pulled away. The Skrill wasn't so lucky. The axe took off a huge chunk of its nose. Terrified, he let out a scream of pain and he flapped off.

_No!_ called Hiccup. While they were distracted, Dagur leapt crazily like a cat from ledge to ledge, and onto Toothless' head. He grabbed hold. Hammy hands shielded the Night Fury's eyes. He tried not to thrash about, trying to keep Hiccup safe. He could feel Hiccup trying to wrestle Dagur off him.

_Toothless!_

"At last! He's mine!"

"Bastard, let him go!"

"You're mine! Both of you! All mine! Ahahahahahhaa!"

With a strength Toothless didn't know the boy had, Hiccup threw himself forward. Dagur's hands fell from the Night Fury's eyes. As Toothless' eyes readjusted to the darkness, he saw that Hiccup had landed on a nearby ledge. He was wrestling Dagur, and to Toothless' surprise, the one-legged prince was overpowering the demented villain.

"_No one hurts my dragon_!"

Dagur seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.

"You may have murdered my father, but you _will not _take Toothless from me!" Hiccup drew his fire sword. Dagur drew his own. There was a fire in Hiccup's eyes Toothless had never seen before. This was not going to be good…

_Hiccup, stop!_ Cried Toothless. But Hiccup did not listen. Anger had overtaken him. This wasn't him. Toothless knew only he could bring him to his senses. He shot the sword from Dagur's hand. At that same moment, Toothless heard a huge cry from above. Suddenly, an enormous Stealth Dragon swooped out of the ether, picking up Dagur in its claws. Because this dragon camouflaged itself perfectly with its surroundings, it looked for a moment as if Dagur had learned to fly.

Cries of _Freedom!_ rang from the skies as fire-breathing creatures of all sizes, species, and colors soared above them. The dragons had returned. And they'd brought backup. They were angry. Dagur had kept them imprisoned for years. They'd never seen daylight, never seen their families, never fly… and they were hungry.

_Oh no… _whispered Toothless, finally bringing Hiccup to his senses. Upon hearing the dragon's voice, the prince dropped his sword, rushed to his best friend, and wrapped his arms around his dragon neck.

_Toothless! Are you alright, bud? Did he hurt you? _He checked every inch of the Night Fury's scaly body for any damage.

_I'm fine… _

_Ohh, thank goodness._

_But it doesn't look like he's going to be, _he said darkly.

Above them, Dagur struggled against the entire army of dragons who had turned on him. Even though this is what they had planned, this was not how they had imagined it. The dragons sank their fangs into his biceps, stabbed him in the chest… Hiccup shivered. Dagur was as good as dead.

_Come on, _Hiccup hopped onto Toothless' back, _Let's find Astrid and the others._

The mountain had finally stopped crumbling. They were able to rescue all the knights and dragons from the rubble. Thank goodness, every knight and dragon still had all their limbs, except for Gobber, who had come into the battle with only two.

When they rescued Astrid, she was livid. She punched Hiccup in the arm with a new level of ferocity that made any other previous violence she'd done to him look like child's play. "What the hell was that?! You broke your promise! I can't believe y-"

Hiccup silenced her with a passionate kiss.

"Ugch, let's get out of here," said Snotlout, disgusted by the two, "I think I just threw up in my mouth." No one needed to be told twice. They took to the skies. Dagur's screams had been drowned out by Dragonese cries of victory.

Once they cleared the Mystic Mountains, Toothless heaved a sigh of relief. _We did it, Hiccup. We won. He's gone. They're free._

_You're right bud. We did._

_Stoick would have been proud of you._

_He would have been proud of you too, bud._

Toothless showed his teeth in that strange way that humans did. What had Hiccup called it? Oh right. A smile…


	10. Hiccup For King

**Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD or the franchise.**

**Author's Note: Here we are. The last chapter. I hope you enjoyed this. Let me know!**

_"Chest out, son,"_ Stoick had often told him.

_"Yeah this is as out as it goes, Dad…" _Hiccup had frequently replied.

When his father had first asked him about this, he wasn't so sure, but today, no one, not even Snotlout doubted Hiccup's ability. He had always known this day would come but he had always expected his father to be there with him, helping him along every step of the way. It would be a lot scarier alone…

_"You're ready son." _Stoick's voice had been playing in the back of Hiccup's head all morning.

But he wasn't alone... He had Toothless. He had Astrid. Both of them had refused to leave his side as he prepared for the ceremony. Toothless was merely there to provide words of encouragement, whereas Astrid would not stop fiddling with Hiccup's armour, brushing back his hair.

"I swear, Hiccup, does this stuff ever stay put?" She mumbled, "Now you see why braiding it would be much more practical…"

Once she was satisfied, she stepped back, took a good look at him, and smiled. "You look so handsome."

Hiccup took a step towards her. "You're a vision yourself in that ceremonial armour there." He wrapped an arm around her waist. He put a hand to her soft cheek. He was so glad she was here. No words could express how grateful he was to have her with him today. An idea overtook him and he knew it was the right thing to do…

He took her hand and bent down on his good knee. "Lady Astrid, will you marry me?"

She smiled, close to tears of joy. She nodded. "Yes," she whispered, helping him to his feet and drawing him close.

_Hah! _Cried a triumphant Toothless, nudging Hiccup with his nose, and giving Astrid a dragon kiss, _Took you long enough. Congratulations._

_ Thanks, bud._

"What did he say?" Astrid asked, beaming.

"Toothless gives his congratulations… also he says that it took me long enough."

Astrid laughed. With a creek, her front door swung open. Gobber limped in. "Astrid, the knights are waitin' on ye. Get yerself to the training grounds!" He ordered.

Before hurrying out, she gave Hiccup a passionate kiss. He loved her so much. He was so happy that when he took his place on the throne, she would be right beside him. She rushed out the door.

"Yeh ready, Hiccup?" Gobber asked, a golden crown dangling from his rusty left hook. Stoick's voice played inside his head again.

"_You're going to make a great king." _

Hiccup's heart beat faster. He nodded.

"Gud." He limped over to Hiccup and put a hand on his shoulder, "Listen. I just want ye to know that yer father never doubted ye. He always told me ye'd be a great ruler. Ye're what we need, Hiccup."

Gobber had taught Hiccup everything he knew about metallurgy. Without his help, Toothless wouldn't be able to fly and he wouldn't have been able to make his own advances to his foot. Before Hiccup really understood that Stoick cared for him, Gobber had been a second father. He'd always had Hiccup's best interests at heart. Words could not describe how happy Hiccup was that Gobber was there to support him.

"Thanks, Gobber."

"Right," he said, hobbling out the door, "let's go."

Cheers rang out from the streets as the knights and their dragons proceeded to the town square.

"Here comes mah big moment," said Gobber, brushing his beard, "See yeh out there." He stepped out of the training grounds and was greeted with a roar.

Hiccup smiled. Good old Gobber… They waited on the brink. This day had come too soon. Wasn't it just yesterday that he had found Toothless, had tried to convince his father not to attack Dragon Island, had pined hopelessly over Astrid… Somehow, everything had come together and all too fast. He didn't expect to be standing here without his father.

_"I love you, Hiccup, and I couldn't be more proud of you."_

This day had always hung in the back of his boyhood nightmares. But he was not alone. Toothless stood beside him as always.

_Thank you for everything, Toothless, _whispered Hiccup, _Even now when I have the words to tell you, they're still not enough. You mean so much to me. I wouldn't be here today without you._

The Night Fury licked his face.

_Bad Toothless! Astrid will be furious! She spent all morning cleaning me up!_

_ Blah, blah, blah, _teased Toothless, _save the sappy stuff for later. This is your day. Get out there! _He nudged him out into the screaming crowd.

Upon seeing Hiccup, a hush fell over them. He took a deep breath and proceeded down the winding road towards the town square. As he passed, people and dragons alike bowed their heads. Toothless followed. Nothing made him happier than his presence.

Stoick's voice was on repeat inside his head.

_"I love you, Hiccup…"_

He passed the knights, Ruffnut's eyes only for their newest knight-to-be, Astrid prouder than he'd ever seen her.

_"I love you,"_

Gobber stood at the center of the square, holding out the crown. Toothless bounced forward, excited to see this.

_"…and I couldn't be more proud of you."_

Hiccup knelt before his old teacher. Gobber placed the crown on his head.

_"I love you, Hiccup, and I couldn't be more proud of you."_

The prince rose to his feet and turned to face his people. Toothless beamed from ear to ear and his teeth had sunken into his gums.

"By the power vested in me," cried Gobber, "I hereby pronounce Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third; _King of the Wilderwest!_ _Long live the King!_"

Toothless let out the first roar and all the others, humans and dragons, followed suit. _Woohoo! Long live the King!_

Cheers rang out through the entire island and dragons shot fire into the sky but Hiccup couldn't hear them. The overpowering voice of his father rang in his ears, as if he were right beside him.

_"That's my boy!"_

"Long live the King! Long live the King! Hic-cup! Hic-cup! Hic-cup!"

_The End_


End file.
